Page 35 of The Daughters of Avalon
Betimes people behaved inexplicably, particularly when listening to their gut. She and her sisters betimes behaved irrationally, and it nearly always had to do with a glimpse of the sight, subtle as Malcom’s may have been.Normalpeople might not have visions as clearly as adewinemight, but they too had instincts that drove them—not that they always listened.
Obviously, he did not like this lord of Amdel, and perhaps not the sister either. And if the sister was anything like her brother, Elspeth could well understand why.
She furrowed her brow. Could they dare fool this lord? What would Malcom tell him? And if anyone should ask how they came to know one another, Elspeth herself would have little to say.
I peered longingly into his sea-green eyes and heard a call from Ersinius’ men that made me cast myself into his arms. Pshaw!The very thought brought the faintest smile to her lips, but, of course, she daren’t make light of their circumstances. It could all go very, very wrong.
Malcom sat relaxed in the chair, and now that Beauchamp was gone, his aura returned to normal, albeit with tints of green now. Those who bore any shade of the forest in their ambience could be loyal and generous, but they did not suffer fools very gladly. This rang true of Malcom, even despite that she’d known him such a short a time.
And nevertheless, both times, when facing Beauchamp’s men and then Beauchamp himself, she’d sensed a darkness in him, and she suspected he could be capable of atrocities just the same as anyone else. The minds of men were often changeable, and the consequences could be disastrous.
Not for the first time, he seemed to guess what was on her mind. “I’ll tell him as little as possible,” he said. “But how should I say we met?”
Confused, Elspeth sat on the edge of the bed, crossing her arms, considering the consequences of revealing herself to Malcom. She desperatelywantedto tell him everything but dared not… the words wouldn’t come.
She couldn’t see her own aura, but she had been told hers was pink and green, which was much to be expected for adewine.Dewineswere natural healers, highly intuitive, with a strong affinity for the Craft. Pink was also the color for those who bore the blood of Taliesin. In days of yore, there had been many, many of their ilk, all known to one to another by theircolors. Now they were dwindling in numbers. And soon, they, too, would go the way of the faeries—like so much vermin. One after another they were being exterminated. So, now, how could she dare reveal herself to this man? She opened her mouth to speak and swallowed her words.
“Elspeth…” His eyes beseeched her as he rose up from the chair. “Only give me munitions I will need to aid you.”
Watching her intently, he came forward, lifting up the cloak she’d discarded on the bed, bringing the garment to his nostrils, and breathing deeply of its scent—her scent, for she’d been the last to wear it. For some strange reason, that simple gesture made Elspeth shiver and it set her heart to pounding. “I… I am sorry,” she said, her brows slanting.
Alas, he was right. The lord of Amdel would surely expect their company once they were rested, and if Elspeth allowed Malcom to face that man again without greater knowledge of her predicament, they could easily raise suspicions…
And to that end, she thought perhaps she’d hidden her tunic well enough, though it wasn’t very likely Beauchamp had missed her breeches. So much as she might have liked to toss the entire ensemble into his garderobe, she knew that wouldn’t serve her. The last thing she meant to do was alert anyone from whence she’d come—and, yes, of course, she understood why Malcom needed to know more, but what could she say now that could come close to appeasing him… and still guard her secrets? “My mother would have me wed a man I cannot abide,” she said, at last.
He arched a brow. “D’Lucy?”
Elspeth peered up at him in surprise. “H-how… how did you know?”
He offered a slow smile. “Ach, lass, ye’re not sae difficult to read, ye know. I sensed your distress every time I mentioned his name.”
Elspeth blew out a sigh, and continued, despite that she meant not to. “’Tis not the lord of Drakewich, but another.”
“Cael?”
Elspeth nodded. “Aye.”
And now he whistled low, then sat beside her on the bed, allowing a moment for what she’d told him to settle into his bones. “I suspected as much but hoped I could be wrong. So then… your mother would have you wed the new lord of Blackwood?”
Elspeth nodded yet again.
“And your sire?”
There could be little harm in sharing this truth. “My father is dead,” Elspeth confessed.
“So,” he said, trying to make sense of it all. “Stephen has consented to this marriage to d’Lucy?”
Feeling like a child discovered at foul play, Elspeth nodded yet again.
And once again, Malcom whistled low, then shook his head. “My Da always said I had a bent for trouble,” he told her. But then he grinned, as though to reassure her and he pushed his grandfather’s cloak behind her, rising from the bed. “Done is done,” he said. “Somehow we will make it right.”
“Will you leave me here at Amdel?” Elspeth asked, afraid that he meant to wash his hands of her now and abandon her to Beauchamp—and his sister, with whom Malcom was no longer betrothed, thanks to Elspeth.
“Is that what you would have me do?”
Elspeth shook her head, as it was the last thing she could want. She needn’t consult any knuckle bones to know that anything having to do with Beauchamp could only lead to disaster. He had that quality about him, and she was still unnerved by the aura of this castel, despite that she didn’t feel so overwhelmed now that she was inside the dwelling itself. Andnevertheless, this place—this pile of stones—could only be that way if it had long been the receptacle for evil.
“Never fear, then. I would not abandon you.”
